Japanese Princesses

Trip Start Jul 02, 2006

Trip End Mar 02, 2007

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Flag of Japan Tokyo, Japan
Saturday, August 26, 2006

Well, what an entry into Tokyo! In my half asleep state at Hong Kong airport I managed to leave my Lonely Planet somewhere meaning I arrived in Japan completely lost. From the begining I thought that it was going to be a challange. Enter Narita airport with plans to buy another Lonely Planet, get some cash and get into the city, but there was nothing open and no exchange or cash machines around. Armed with my rail pass I managed to get to central Tokyo where you would think cash machines and internet places would be everywhere - how wrong can you be! Walking with my pack for over three hours from cash machine to cash machine with none taking foreign cards I was lost and without a cent (or Yen) to my name. I did find a capsule hotel which took Visa eventually but they refused entry as I couldnt speak Japanese. So back on the streets and starting to give up hope, I was slowly resigning myself to a night sleeping on the streets of central Tokyo - probably not the safest situation in the world.

I desperation I started asking random people on the street for help finding an ATM. Enter Nishimo, a 20 something Tokyo local who had just finished work at 1am. What followed was the single kindest act that I have ever heard of. In her broken English she led me to three ATMs and tried in vain to get them to accept my card, then nearly an hour later we trudged over a kilometre to the central post office for the foriegn bank ATMs. With no luck there she jumped on her mobile and insisted she would sort things out. Next thing I know she gets us in a cab and pulls up at a hotel. Into the Lobby and pays for my room saying the taxi and the room is on her company, puts me in the lift and says goodbye. Unbelievable!!!

Spent yesterday getting my shit together, money, Lonely Planets ect. Got a shocker of a cold at the moment so a quiet few days then onto Moscow - be ready Hock it will be huge